Seed Snack Bottle

ABSTRACT

A snack bottle for assisting in the consumption and disposal of a shelled food product comprising: a first compartment; a first closure means, where the first closure means closes an opening for the first compartment; a second compartment, where the second compartment attaches to the first compartment; a second closure means, where the second closure means closes an opening for the second compartment; and a separator, where the separator lies between the first compartment and the second compartment.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of Invention

The present invention relates to a bottle to be utilized with snackseeds and provide storage for both the seed and the residue shell.

2. Description of Related Art

Snacks come in all varieties for consumers. Snacks range from fruits,packaged snacks such as dried fruits, energy bars, candy bars, potatochips, corn chips, tortilla chips, nuts and edible seeds. Many of thepre-packed snacks have no waste residue per se. The consumer merelyopens up the package and enjoys the edible food product that may bewithin the package. Some fruit snacks include disposable residue such asthe skin or seeds that maybe within the fruit such as an apple where thecore is normally discarded as the main fruit around the core is consumedby the consumer. In terms of nuts, nuts are sold both in a shell andunshelled condition. Further nuts may be sold in a raw condition orprocessed through roasting. When nuts are sold either roasted orunroasted in a shell condition there is usually residue or wasteassociated with consumption of the nuts or seeds. One particular snackthat is enjoyed by many individuals is sunflower seeds that involve theconsumption of a seed that is within the shell of the sunflower seed.Quite similar to sunflower seed consumption are pumpkin seeds andpistachios. Peanuts may also be sold in a shell condition where shell isbroken and the actual nut portion is in the shell for consumption. Withrespect the shelled nut consumption a user typically discards the shellin a bag or a container for disposal. Further such waste product maycreate a messy condition at and near the point of consumption. Manyconsumers of sunflower seeds actually spit the shell itself becauseusually the shell is required to be inserted into the mouth to accessthe seed within the shell. Once the seed is accessed the user typicallyspits the shell out of their mouth.

Consequently it would be advantageous to have a device that may be usedto assist the consumer of sunflower seeds in disposing of the shellafter consuming the seed within the shell. Such a device may also beused with other shelled nuts such as pumpkin, pistachio and peanut.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to a snack bottle for assisting in theconsumption and disposal of a shelled food product comprising: a firstcompartment; a first closure means, where the first closure means closesan opening for the first compartment; a second compartment, where thesecond compartment attaches to the first compartment; a second closuremeans, where the second closure means closes an opening for the secondcompartment; and a separator, where the separator lies between the firstcompartment and the second compartment. The first closure means mayinclude a first lid and a lip where the lip provides a means to seal thefirst lid to a closed position. The second closure means may include asecond lid and a lip where the lip provides a means to seal the secondlid to a closed position. The first lid may be interchangeable betweenan open position and a closed position. Further, the second lid may beinterchangeable between an open position and a closed position.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 depicts a side view of a seed snack bottle in accordance with thepresent invention.

FIG. 2 depicts a top view of the seed snack bottle in an open positionaccording to the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The present invention relates to a bottle that contains twocompartments. The bottle assists the consumer in the consumption of ashelled snack such as sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds and/or pistachios.The present invention includes a first compartment for the storage ofthe seed in its unshelled condition. The seeds may be accessed forconsumption and then enjoyed by the user. A second compartment isprovided in accordance with the present invention that allows the userto dispose of the shell after consuming the seed within the shell. Boththe first and second compartments have lids that attach to a lipconnection means at each opening thereof. The compartments are joinedinto a composite bottle and a separator divides each compartment fromthe other.

In reference to FIG. 1, a seed snack bottle 100 is depicted. The seedsnack bottle 100 includes a first compartment 20 and a secondcompartment 22. Each compartment provides a means for the storage ofboth the consumed or residue shell and unconsumed seeds. Eithercompartment may be utilized for either state or condition of the seed.Further the compartments may be interchanged as desired by the user.

As shown in FIG. 1, the snack bottle 100 has a first compartment 20 thatincludes a first lid 32. The first lid 32 shown more clearly in FIG. 2provides a means to close the opening of the first compartment 20. A lipsealing means is provided at the top of the first compartment 20. Lip 26provides the sealing means to seal the lid 32 in a closed position. Atthe opposite side of the first compartment 20 lies a separator 25. Theseparator 25 separates the first compartment 20 from the secondcompartment 22.

The second compartment 22 further includes a lip 24 and a second lid 34.The second lid 34 provides a means to close or seal the opening of thesecond compartment 22. Consequently a user may place unconsumedsunflower seeds or other seed type snacks in the first compartment 20and retrieve them by opening the first lid 32. After a sufficient amountof seeds are provided for consumption the user may then consume theseeds and dispose of the shells in the second compartment 22. The secondcompartment 22 may be accessed by opening the second lid 34 to exposethe opening of the second compartment 22. FIG. 2 depicts a top view ofthe snack bottle 100 depicting the top of the lip 26 that surrounds thecircumference of the first compartment 20. The first lid 32 is shown inan open position and exposes the opening to first compartment 20. Asshown, lid 32 is adjoined to the body of the snack bottle 100 andtherefore may be conveniently opened and closed as desired by the user.A similar configuration is provided for the second lid 34 for the secondcompartment 22. The lid 32 and lid 34 resiliently close the respectiveopenings of compartment 20 and compartment 22.

The snack bottle 100 may be manufactured in various sizes to accommodatedifferent volumes of seeds and the residue shells. The snack bottleaccording to the present invention therefore provides a convenientdevice and utensil to assist the consumer in enjoying a seed snack. Theinstant invention has been shown and described in what it considers tobe the most practical and preferred embodiments. It is recognized,however, that departures may be made there from within the scope of theinvention and that obvious modifications will occur to a person skilledin the art.

1. A snack bottle for assisting in the consumption and disposal of ashelled food product comprising: a. a first compartment, where the firstcompartment includes a lip around a circumference of an opening to thefirst compartment; b. a first closure means, where the first closuremeans closes the opening for the first compartment, where the firstclosure means includes a first lid adjoined to the first compartment,where the lip seals the first lid in a closed position; c. a secondcompartment, where the second compartment attaches to the firstcompartment, and where the second compartment includes a lip around acircumference of an opening to the second compartment; d. a secondclosure means, where the second closure means closes the opening for thesecond compartment, where the second closure means includes a second lidadjoined to the second compartment, where the lip seals the second lidin a closed position; and e. a separator, where the separator liesbetween the first compartment and the second compartment.
 2. (canceled)3. (canceled)
 4. The snack bottle according to claim 1, where the firstlid is interchangeable between an open position and a closed position.5. The snack bottle according to claim 1, where the second lid isinterchangeable between an open position and a closed position.
 6. Amethod of use for a snack bottle comprising the steps of: a. placing ashelled food product within a first compartment of the snack bottle; b.enclosing the shelled food product within the first compartment with alid adjoined to the first compartment; c. consuming a seed of theshelled food product; d. disposing of a shell of the shelled foodproduct within a second compartment attached to the first compartment;and e. enclosing the shell within the second compartment with a lidadjoined to the second compartment.